The NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Gangliosides and Modu lation of Neuronal Functions" was held at the University of Stutt gart-Hohenheim, Federal Republic of Germany, on October 20 - 24, 1986. About 70 participants from 10 countries presented papers on a wide range of topics all concerning the ganglioside theme. The content of the workshop consisted of the following chap ters: (1) Fundamentals for research on function of gangliosides; (2) Brain ganglioside metabolism; (3) Cell specific distribution and differentiation-related ex pression of brain gangliosides; (4) Gangliosides and neuronal plasticity; (5) Bio-medical potential of exogenous ganglioside application on neuronal function; and (6) Critical assessments on aspects of ganglioside therapy. The aim of the workshop was to sum up and discuss the present knowledge in the respective fields. Despite intensive research on gangliosides ever since Ernst Klenk discovered them in 1936, the biological function of. these amphiphilic, "sphinx-like" glycosphingo lipids remains elusive. Over the past few years, several thousands of articles on gangliosides have been published demonstrating very special properties of these glycolipids and their possible in volvement in diverse biological phenomena. As far as we know up to the present time, these properties may be due to particular physico-chemical attributes of these compounds, especially in com bination with calcium. The results obtained so far have shed light not only on pos sible functional roles of gangliosides with regard to cellular induction and organization, but have also unexpectedly opened up VI a whole new field of therapeutic applications for these compounds.

Summarizing research progress achieved in 32 areas of cell biology covered in this series, this volume places special emphasis on the following topics: recognition in parasitic and symbiotic systems - the molecular biology and genetics of susceptibility and resistance of plants and animals to pathogens, parasites and symbionts - the cell to cell recognition and differentiation - the most challenging problems in developmental biology of plants and animals - the plasticity in cell to cell communication which plays a major role in cell differentiation and function.

This book focuses on the role of gangliosides in three areas of medicine in which rapid progress has been made in the last decade: cancer, peripheral neuropathies and Alzheimer's disease. The volume further reflects progress in the pathogenesis of peripheral neuropathies, and the controversial role of gangliosides, also in therapeutic administration. There is a section on the role of gangliosides in neuronal differentiation and development and their receptor functions and cell surface activities. This excellent addition to the renowned Progress in Brain Research series also contains an invaluable plenary lecture on molecular basis of cell adhesion by Nobel prizewinner Gerald Edelman.

Biochemical Basis of Functional Neuroteratology

Of all the areas of biological science, there is, perhaps, none that has experienced in recent decades so great an increase in findings as neurobiology, the discipline that concerns memory in all of its myriad aspects. The notion of exploring memory, that capacity to store and recall individual experience, has received attention increasingly in our society. Of course, animals can exhibit astounding powers of memory, but memory is of paramount importance to human beings due to the significant role it plays in the transmission of our cultural traditions. It is tradition, after all, that ensures the passing on of qualities established by lineage, a continuous link from generation to generation, between past and present. And it is tradition that inspires bodies of thought (knowledge and customs, for example) to be handed down by a multiplicity of information bearing devices (i. e. , word, writing, picture, electronic data carriers). The objective of this book is to inform the reader in one clear volume of the groundwork which has been established in memory research from the diverse disciplines of neurobiology. It is intended, primarily, for students of medicine, zoology, biology, psychology and psychiatry, but will certainly prove to be a valuable resource to others with a healthy interest in the area.

This revised and renamed volume reflects a number of important changes in content and emphasis since this field was first surveyed in Complex carbohydrates of nervous tissue in 1979. A third of the chapters did not appear in the predecessor volume, and more than half have new authors. In this expand

Data of all relevant aspects of neuronal cell growth and differentiation are presented in this volume. Regulation of expression, storage and release of nerve growth factors, receptor control and the cellular responses to growth factors are comprehensively discussed. Treated are also influences of various neurotransmitters on neuronal morphogenesis and new results of interactions of cells and mediators of the immune, endocrine and nervous system. Special emphasis is given to those factors regulating regeneration and nerve spreading after injuries of the nerve tissue.